Hegemonic Masculinity In Sports
Performing Hegemonic Masculinity: Physical and Vocal Performances of Professional Female Ice Hockey Players
In order to thrive in the field of sport, to what extent do professional female ice hockey players need to perform hegemonic masculinity?
Hockey, since its inception in the late 19th century, has been a sport that goes by time honored buzz words such as “toughness”, “grit” and “determination”. For many decades, the sport has widely been populated by the male gender, and only recently has the game shifted to a more unisex participation. But has this sudden transition from a male-dominated sport to one that fields both genders forced a contrived reaction of “hegemonic masculinity”? Did the sudden pressure of having to live up to and …show more content…
As Bryson defines, “sport” is an activity in which men, and children participate, though boys far more than girls, meaning sporting activities where women are predominant such as figure skating and gymnastics are different from “real” sports. The key features of sport are the linking of maleness that involves aggression, violence and force. These elements are not usually associated with the acts of females, but in sports, in order to succeed, women need to perform hegemonic masculinity physically and …show more content…
In the article, it described, “no player in women’s hockey drives to the net with such purpose and fury…Wickenheiser has grown from teen phenom to grande dame of Canadian hockey, carrying the weight of her country and game every time [she’s] on the ice. Sadly, she isn’t allowed to body check.” This is evidence of her masculinity being exposed when she is on the ice. Since no women played with such purpose and fury except for her, it explains how physical she had to play that lead her to her success in winning two Olympic Gold Medals (Helstein, 2009). The fact that she once commented on her play in a Swedish professional league, “it does happen sometimes (head being hit by an elbow) and you know it’s going to hurt. You just get up and keep trying” proves her tough and persistent masculine performance when competing against men (“The Times–Transcript”, B. 8). One of the highlights of her career was to captain the Canadian national team several times in the Olympics and World Championships. A fundamental skill that every captain needs to have in almost every sport is verbal communication that has authority. As Helstein mentions, Wickenheiser was very influential in the locker rooms
In order to thrive in the field of sport, to what extent do professional female ice hockey players need to perform hegemonic masculinity?
Hockey, since its inception in the late 19th century, has been a sport that goes by time honored buzz words such as “toughness”, “grit” and “determination”. For many decades, the sport has widely been populated by the male gender, and only recently has the game shifted to a more unisex participation. But has this sudden transition from a male-dominated sport to one that fields both genders forced a contrived reaction of “hegemonic masculinity”? Did the sudden pressure of having to live up to and …show more content…
As Bryson defines, “sport” is an activity in which men, and children participate, though boys far more than girls, meaning sporting activities where women are predominant such as figure skating and gymnastics are different from “real” sports. The key features of sport are the linking of maleness that involves aggression, violence and force. These elements are not usually associated with the acts of females, but in sports, in order to succeed, women need to perform hegemonic masculinity physically and …show more content…
In the article, it described, “no player in women’s hockey drives to the net with such purpose and fury…Wickenheiser has grown from teen phenom to grande dame of Canadian hockey, carrying the weight of her country and game every time [she’s] on the ice. Sadly, she isn’t allowed to body check.” This is evidence of her masculinity being exposed when she is on the ice. Since no women played with such purpose and fury except for her, it explains how physical she had to play that lead her to her success in winning two Olympic Gold Medals (Helstein, 2009). The fact that she once commented on her play in a Swedish professional league, “it does happen sometimes (head being hit by an elbow) and you know it’s going to hurt. You just get up and keep trying” proves her tough and persistent masculine performance when competing against men (“The Times–Transcript”, B. 8). One of the highlights of her career was to captain the Canadian national team several times in the Olympics and World Championships. A fundamental skill that every captain needs to have in almost every sport is verbal communication that has authority. As Helstein mentions, Wickenheiser was very influential in the locker rooms